Browse Category: babies

Dirty Dirty Dirty

riding in the car

We just got back from our annual camping trip on Sunday afternoon and this year it was in Tahoe at Emerald Bay State Park.  We brought Koa along and the Sokol-Juns had Jack so it was a little different from past trips but just as fun.

emerald bay

It was a gorgeous weekend with warm, sunny days and cool nights.  I came home without a single mosquito bite but there were plenty of huge ants and pesky bees.  The lake was a sparkly blue and there were chipmunks everywhere.

lookout rock

Koa seemed to enjoy the great outdoors and even found himself a rock to sit on.  He got pretty comfy at the campsite and greeted each person as they entered by frantically searching for Fabian and bringing him to them.  I guess he’s made himself at home.  He also got to dig in the dirt, slept in the dirt, and was filthy.  I made sure to take him straight to the bathhouse on our way home.

jack in the dirt

jack and his lamp

Jack also made himself at home by plopping himself down on the dirt and playing with his trucks.  We even made him a garage for the trucks out of an empty Coors Light box.  For some reason I felt like the campground was extra dusty and dirty this year.  I couldn’t seem to keep my hands clean and came home with raw fingers and soot under my nails.

breakfast

As usual, each couple was in charge of taking care of one meal and we ate very well this past weekend.  Check out this breakfast burrito just prior to folding.  Unfortunately for us, the bees were also interested in our food and we we often chased over to the campfire for shelter from them.  Jes and I prepared corned beef hash and eggs on the final morning accompanied by the leftover veggies and pastries from the day before.

dishes

We also took turns cleaning up the pots and utensils.  Luckily we had a very good helper with the water faucet.  It doesn’t stay on so I usually had to hold the water on with one hand while attempting to wash and scrub with the other.  With Jack helping out, it made the chore less difficult.  He loved the water and we were getting the dishes done faster.

vyl on a rock

On Saturday afternoon we all walked down to the beach for a little rinse off of the feet in the ice cold water.  Vyl wished she had brought her swimsuit and decided to take a short nap on a rock.  Most of the boys actually jumped in and had a brief swim in the water.

beach

We snuck Koa down the trail and had him close-by on the beach.  At one point a 5-year-old girl came by to take away Jack’s pail and Koa went nutty.  The barking made Jack scowl but it made the girl go away.  Hah!

group photo

It was another fun camping trip for us and it looked like the boy and dog also had a good time.  Thanks for planning, Ryan!  Where are we going next year?!

Here are the photos: Day One |  Day Two |  Day Three

Bikes and Brisket

bikes

On Sunday, the boys drove across the bay to ride their bikes around Bear’s Loop and came back exhausted and sweaty.  It was almost 90 degrees out there and the hills were pretty steep.

Koa and Jack

yay dog

Later in the evening we went to the Sokol-Juns’ for smoked beef brisket that Ryan was working on all day.  Koa even got to hang out and Jack seemed to get a big kick out having the dog in his house.  Koa got to sniff the cats through the screen door and Wilby and Maru looked pretty anxious about having the dog in the house.

Vegas Weekend

The Venetian

Over the weekend, Jes and I went to Vegas to visit Kev, Karrie, and their little twin girls. Unfortunately there was a failure in planning so we ended up spending most of it at the Palazzo while the Wus were in LA for a family event. Our suite at the Palazzo was amazing. It had a double-door entrance, two bathrooms, a living area, separate bedroom, and bar. Ok, it was ridiculous. It turned out to be a nice refuge since it was a stinky 108 degrees outside!!!!  I think I took a total of 8 naps over the weekend.  Aaaahhhh…

bouchons

We spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out at the pool, window shopping, and had some pretty tasty meals. We went to Bouchon for brunch and had the chicken and waffles and chocolate “bouchons” (chocolate cake supposedly in the shape of corks). Both dishes were sooooo yummy. We also had dinner at Le Cirque and had such a good time eating, drinking, watching the fountain show from the window, and enjoyed the service. I had a really savory pork belly and fillet mignon topped with foie gras. *drool* We also had a wonderful spaghetti carbonara at Batali’s San Marco that I still think about every once in a while.

Karen & Katelin

On Monday, Kev was back from LA and picked us up for a day at his house. I FINALLY got to meet his little girls who just turned two years of age.

Karen and Jes

They have such distinct personalities and of course they were suspicious of their “Uncle Jesse”. Karen finally warmed up to him but Katelin wasn’t as amenable to him. We got back Monday evening and the Bangs seemed to have a decent time with Koa. They reported that he was pretty easy to take care of but always seemed “bummed out”. I reassured them that it wasn’t them and that it was his usual demeanor. What can I say? I have a lazy dog that sleeps all day. Thanks for your help, Bangs!!

Here are photos of the weekend.

Sunday Streets in the Mission

street closure

This morning I got up early to take Jes to the airport for a 9 am flight to NYC.  Once I got home, I got a message from Ryan that they were going out to The Mission for Sunday Streets.  “Sunday Streets” is basically a relatively new idea that involves closing down streets in certain neighborhoods to allow residents to roam the streets, get some exercise, and get a taste of the local shops and flavors.

jack and daddy

Jack had a great time running in the middle of the street making sure to stomp on each of the manholes.  He almost got to play with a ladybug that landed on Ryan’s shorts (above photo) but it got smushed.  Boo…  There were lots of people riding bikes, rollerskates, and pushing strollers.

horchata

I got to check out the different stores along the route and we stopped for lunch at Chavita’s Numero Dos, which turned out to be rather tasty.  Jack LOVED the horchata and I don’t think Michelle got much of her drink.

slide

We also stopped at a playground and tried to convince Jack that going down slides was fun.  I’m not so sure he was convinced.  By the end of the morning, we were all tired and full and had a fun day in the sun.

auntie beak and jack

Thanks for taking me along, guys!  Bee-too-bee had fun!

Here are the rest of the photos.

Pool Party…kinda

patio

grill

On Sunday we were supposed to go to Tomales Bay but for various reasons we decided to just have a BBQ in our courtyard.  It was a sunny afternoon so we all gathered just outside of the pool gate for Susie’s Mom’s kalbi and spicy pork, Ryan’s smoked pulled pork, Michelle’s pasta salad, Vyl’s salsa, and my corn on the cob.  Yum.

pool and gate

It turned out to be just as fun without the long drive.  Little J had lots of space to roam around safely (hooray for a pool gate) and we all stuffed ourselves silly.  We’ll just have to give Tomales Bay another try later.  🙂

Sparklers are cool.

dayantha

July 4th was spent at the Agustins’ and we had a grip of BBQ’d meat to make up for Friday night’s vegetarian dinner.  Jes made chili lime wings and ribs while Susie brought her mom’s Kalbi.  Mm…. We also had KFC corn on the cob complete with butter packets along with more gourmet grilled white corn.  Eleen made some tasty salads and mashed potato and the Fernandos brought over beer and desserts.

Elise

I also got to play with Elise, Ti and Thilan’s little girl, who warmed up to me fairly quickly once I offered her some food to taste.  She was dolled up in a festive July 4th dress and I got to take some portraits of her too.

naptime

She also semi-bonded with Jes that afternoon.  She was getting sleepy and Jes gave it a try with getting her to calm down and fall asleep.  She cried for a minute or so before settling down and taking a good 20-minute nap on his belly.  Of course as soon as she woke up, she cried and forgot who Jes was an hour later.  Eh, so much for that.

Alia

Agnes and Tim also stopped by and brought little Alia with them.  Check out those cheeks and the cutest bib ever!

Masayas

The weather was nice that afternoon and perfect for chillin’ in the backyard.  Koa got to chow down on Kalbi bones and hang out with all his buddies.  There were five dogs out there by the end of the day!

walking

Once the sun went down, Dayantha’s parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmas showed up for a little walk down the street to see the fireworks.  I think we made a mini parade down the street with about 20-something of us and that’s not counting the 4 dogs and 2 babies!

Bay Bridge

We stood at the edge of the water overlooking the bay and could see fireworks near the Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge, and at Jack London Square.  They were all very far away but it was cool to be out there anyway.  It’s too bad I didn’t bring my tripod.  I got a bunch of blurry photos but this one managed to come out somehow.

sparklers

At the end of the night, we busted out the sparklers and snakes that the Masayas had brought up from Artesia.  We had 10 boxes of sparklers and it was fun going through them all.  By the end of night, the boys were lighting up whole boxes of sparklers for a more “spectacular” effect.  Luckily there was a metal fire pit in the back for us to dump all the ashes and burning paper.

Anyway, thanks for hosting another awesome BBQ, Agustins!  I hope we didn’t make you too nervous with all the fire last night. 🙂

Here are the photos.